I've been asked and don't know -- is there support/ability/whatever for a GUI log in with Xfce with run level 4? /etc/inittab says
I just use run level 3 and startx (happily) and don't know how to answer the question (or how to set it up if it is supported).

Any ideas?

I'm using a personally themed GDM, which works great. I started from the Salix SlackBuild and theme and adapted it to my needs. The stock GDM is quite ugly, but highly configurable.

The most simple solution for you would be to install a package from my MLED repo.

http://www.microlinux.fr/slackware/

Go to the subdirectory corresponding to your architecture, and then download the gdm package. You also have to download and install libgnomecanvas, as this is a dependency. Should work out of the box.

Cheers,

Niki

PS: once GDM is installed, simply switch from runlevel 3 to 4, and that's it.

PPS: of course you're free to ignore all this and simply use XDM, the ugliest login manager on the planet.

1 members found this post helpful.

Are you talking about an automated login? If so, what about changing /etc/rc.d/rc.4 to run "su - guiuser -c 'startx'" ? Would that not work?

I'm using SLiM from http://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.0/system/slim/

Nope, just the GUI that presents drop-down user name and box for password in Xfce. That particular machine (not mine) has three users and they're just looking for a gooey form instead of log in, startx (apparently that's confusing?). I dunno why.

Ahh I see. Well I just use xdm and it starts whatever environment you configured in xwmconfig.

Well, that was interesting.

On my box, Xfce, I changed the run level to 4, did init 4, and the thing stated up the KDE log in page.

Hm.

Looked in /etc/X11/xinit and, sure enough
So, what am I missing here?

look in /etc/rc.d/rc.4.
either give xdm a higher priority in the execution order or change the executable permission of the kdm binary.
[Edit: the second alternative also encapsulates the subalt of uninstalling the package altogether (probably the cleanest solution, even if pkgtools doesn't care for such alterations)]

1 members found this post helpful.

Ir doesn't matter at all what xinitrc is linked to when starting in runlevel 4. When the KDM login page shows up just put in your username and choose from the dropdown list (I think it is named "session" or something similar) that you want to run XFCE. KDM will remember that choice (as do most other display managers, not sure about XDM), so that you don't have to do that every time.

xdm runs /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession, which runs ~/.xsession or /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc if the user doesn't have a ~/.xsession. xwmconfig will create the appropriate ~/.xsession for the user when it is run.

kdm uses a different mechanism to find its startup scripts, but I don't install KDE so I can't say much about that.

I just tried it out - moved xdm to the top of the list in /etc/rc.d/rc.4 - works perfectly! (well, as someone has pointed out, xdm isn't exactly the star o' the show)

Technically XDM is just the default X11 Display Manager, it's not actually associated with Xfce.

GDM (Gnome Display Manager) is about as close to what you'd get for something near a native display manager for Xfce, but Xfce doesn't have an actual display manager suite.

get GDM from SBo:

http://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.0/system/gdm/

and you can look for nice themes:

http://gnome-look.org/index.php?xsor...ontentmode=150

If init 4 works, and you want it to always use a gui login, then edit /etc/inittab:

# Default runlevel. (Do not set to 0 or 6)
id:3:initdefault:

change it to:

id:4:initdefault:

That way it will boot straight into kdm or xdm, or which comes first in rc.4

Bearing in mind that this is for a non-techie friend (not for me), I tried all the suggested methods on my work system. Got GDM and libgnomecanvas, built and installed, changed the default run level to 4 in /etc/inittab, reboot (coulda just done init 4, but what the heck). Up it pops, log in, log out, log in as somebody else, log out. Works.

OK, let's see what XDM does. Moved that to the top of the list in /etc/rc.d/rc.4, init 4, log in, log out, works (not pretty, no eye candy, but who cares -- eye candy isn't the point, simplicity is).

And, of course, the first go-round started up KDE's session manager and who knows what KDE pollution that can cause (yeah, eye candy to beat the band but... who needs it to log in on dang terminal?).

Trouble with using the simple, XDM, is that I tell a lie and I have to remember to tell the same lie when update rolls around -- either comment-out the GDM and KDE sections of rc.4 or edit it and move XDM to the top of the list. Either way, not desirable (I know my friend, simple is mandatory, complicated is not appreciated. Guy has a black screen with three icons on it, Firefox, Thunderbird and Terminal, anything else is nope, don't want it, you can imagine his reaction to KDE).

So, anyway, thanks to all for the input. I'm sticking with run level 3 and startx and I'll go tell my friend's system a lie and see what he thinks. He's probably going to bitch about the full-screen gray, but I don't want to find out where to fix that until he's a happy camper (I know it's in one of the config files, just don't know which one, but I'll find it).

Thanks again, all is well that ends.